Yuletide Cowboy

by Debra Clopton

  “Oh, Chance.”

  “I keep thinking I could have done more…. I kept thinking that God should have given me more time. An other chance to get through to him. And then it hit me last night that He did. When Randy asked me to stand at the gate with him, that was my chance. That was a gift from God for me to offer Randy salvation once more. God gave me what I’ve been grieving about all this time. I just lost it in my confusion. Randy didn’t take his last shot at accepting Jesus. I have to rest easy and be at peace with that. But I can’t rest easy about us. Not until I give it my all. I am not going to let this be until you know that you mean everything to me. If I could have conveyed to Randy that God loved him even more than I love you, then he’d have seen the splendor of God’s love. So I’m putting it all out here. I love you.”

  His deep voice rasped with emotion. Lynn couldn’t breathe.

  “Today is the beginning of our hope as a people—this is the morning we celebrate God’s Son being born. He loved us so much…. I love you, Lynn. I’ll take it slow and patiently.”

  Lynn was crying. Her heart cracked wide open as he poured his soul out to her. All her defenses were wiped away as she cupped his upturned face, knowing without doubt that with God and Chance beside her she could conquer the fears, the doubts and the leftover hang-ups of her past. Tears blurred her vision as she bent and kissed him. “I love you, Chance. I love you so much.”

  He kissed her and rose to his feet as he did so, pulling her close.

  “Tiny!” two small voices squealed from inside the house. Lynn spun and she and Chance hurried inside to see what was wrong. She’d left the door open and Tiny had taken it as an invitation. The horse of a dog was half crouching and looked as if he’d stopped mid-stride, having been found out by Gavin and Jack. He had a big ball of red flannel fuzz she’d cleaned out of the dryer’s lint catcher billowing out of his mouth. He was looking up at them all with guilty eyes.

  Lynn hurried forward and gently took the lint from his mouth. “Give me that, young man, before you choke on it.”

  He opened his mouth obediently and gave over his loot, which he’d retrieved from a small trash can beside the dryer.

  “Chance,” the boys squealed again, as they realized he’d stepped into the kitchen behind her. In unison they exclaimed, “You came!” and launched themselves at him.

  Laughing, he caught them and swept them up, one in each arm. “I told you I would, didn’t I?” he asked, looking from one to the other.

  Lynn had never seen a more beautiful sight than her boys gazing at him with looks so full of love and admiration that it made her heart sing. This was what it was all about. This was the desire of her heart.

  “Don’t cry, Momma,” Jack said, reaching a hand out to her. “You can hug us, too.”

  Gavin reached out to her, too, and Chance crossed the gap between them and instantly she was engulfed into the center of the group hug. No. The family hug…

  Chance kissed her gently and both boys squealed, nearly breaking her eardrums.

  “Are you gonna be our daddy?” Gavin asked.

  “Yeah,” Jack said. “We didn’t put you on our list for Santa Claus. We asked God fer you.”

  Chance gave her his slow, cocky grin. “That depends on your momma. What do you say, Lynn?”

  “Say yes, Momma,” Gavin whispered, his heart in his eyes.

  Jack touched her cheek, his dark brows dipped over serious, imploring eyes. “Yes, Momma. Ain’tcha in love with ’im?”

  Chance hiked a brow. “I like the way you boys think. But guys, your momma needs more time.”

  “No!” she exclaimed, and all three guys’ expressions crashed. “I mean, no, I don’t need more time. Yes, I love you and I’ll marry you.”

  Both boys let out earsplitting yells of joy and Lynn knew, looking into Chance’s beautiful, green eyes so full of love, that her life—and her hearing—would never be the same again.

  “Now, can we go get a baby at the hospital?” Gavin asked, breaking the moment.

  “Yeah,” Jack agreed. “We asked Mr. Applegate why we couldn’t have a baby like Tater and he said once y’all was married that the hospital would give us one.”

  Gavin grinned. “Tater’s good. Miss Lacy said he don’t cry none. So can we have one like him?”

  Chance looked from one child to the next, then grinned, his eyes teasing. “Hey, I’m great with that. But let’s get to the wedding first.”

  Lynn couldn’t help it—she laughed. “I agree.”

  Chance set the boys down. “Guys, how about me and your momma talk dates for our wedding and then we’ll meet y’all at the Christmas tree.”

  They nodded then raced toward the living room singing, “We’re gettin’ a tater tot, we’re gettin’ a tater tot!”

  “I hope you know what you’re doing!” Lynn said, as he wrapped his arms around her waist and hauled her close, nuzzling her ear and sending her stomach into a spin and her nerves tingling.

  “I know exactly what I’m doing. I’m planning on spending the rest of my life loving you.”

  “Good, I’m all in.” She kissed him, slow and tenderly, and for the first time in a very long time she stepped out of the yaupon thicket and into clear pastures. It was a beautiful sight to behold.

  Taking her hand, Chance led her toward the living room where their boys were waiting. “But just so you know,” Lynn said, feeling lighthearted. “We are not naming our baby Tater Tot.”

  Chance winked at her. “That’s okay, Lacy and Clint have dibs on that. Me personally, I like the ring of Spud Turner better…. Sounds like a rodeo champ to me.”

  Lynn laughed over the sound of her boy’s happy chatter. “Oh, Chance,” she said. “What a wonderful, wonderful life we are going to have—but if you think you are putting my boys on a bull you can forget about it.”

  “Darlin’, we are in total agreement on all counts.”

  She laughed. “Not on all counts. Spud? Nope, we are not naming our child Spud.”

  “Then how about Idaho? That sounds good for the rodeo, too.”

  She laughed again. “Give it up, Chance.”

  At the word rodeo both boys stopped ogling their presents and spun. “We goin’ to the rodeo?”

  “Sure we are,” Chance answered. “But not today. Right now we are going to sit down and I’m going to read to y’all about baby Jesus’ birth like I promised.”

  “That sounds good,” Jack cooed, and scrambled up close to Chance as he sat down on Lynn’s couch. Lynn smiled contently and thanked God once more for the blessings she’d been given. And she knew she was done holding on to her past.

  Gavin grabbed his Bible storybook that he’d set on the coffee table in anticipation of Chance coming over, and then he crawled up to sit on Chance’s other side. He handed over the book and then looked thoughtful.

  “You think God thought about naming baby Jesus Tater?”

  “I bet he did,” Jack drawled. “It’s a real good name. I like it!”

  Lynn met Chance’s dancing gaze over the top of Gavin’s head and chuckled. “Are you sure you’re ready for this? For us?”

  Chance sobered. “Darlin’, I’ve been ready my whole life for y’all.”

  Dear Reader,

  Thank you for choosing to spend time with me and the Mule Hollow gang! I hope, as I always do, that you were able to put your feet up and relax while you visited my little town!

  I loved writing the Men of Mule Hollow trilogy featuring the Turner men, and I couldn’t wait all year long to get to Chance’s book. Writing about a rodeo preacher appealed to me, and I could see Chance Turner was a cowboy preacher with a heart for God, winning souls of the rodeo cowboys to the Lord. But as always, I wondered what would shake him up…what would happen if circumstances changed and that way of life was taken from him. And also, what would happen when the right woman came along? Of course when questions like that hit my brain it means I have to write the story to get the answers. I hope you’ve enjoyed readin
g it as much as I did creating it.

  People are always asking me how to get my earlier books, so I’m thrilled and excited that in March 2011 Love Inspired will be re-releasing my first two Mule Hollow books. They will be released together into a Love Inspired Classics two-in-one book. The Trouble with Lacy Brown and And Baby Makes Five are two of readers’ all-time favorite Mule Hollow books. I hope if you haven’t had the chance to visit Mule Hollow from its beginning that you’ll pick one up. Or give it as a gift to a friend and introduce them to my stories.

  Also, in May look for new Mule Hollow books as the fun continues!

  And last but not least, as always, I love hearing from readers. You can reach me through my website, debraclopton.com, or my Facebook page or at P.O. Box 1125, Madisonville, Texas 77864.

  Until next time, live, laugh and seek God with all your hearts.

  QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION

  I hope you enjoyed Chance and Lynn’s story. If so, what about it did you enjoy the most? Why?

  Lynn thought she was finally at peace with her life until Chance came crashing in. Why did his arrival open up all her old wounds and make her realize she was far from healed?

  Chance had wounds of his own that he was trying to let heal. He thought coming to the solitude of the family ranch would be just what the doctor ordered…but God had different plans. Have you ever thought one thing was good for you and God showed you He had other plans for you? If so discuss this with the group.

  Lynn couldn’t trust men. And even though she knew Chance was an honorable, trustworthy man she still had a hard time. Even though she’d helped others move forward with their lives, she couldn’t. Why?

  Although Chance felt unworthy and deeply saddened, his life changed the moment he was run over by Lynn’s twins, Gavin and Jack. There was no way he couldn’t smile upon their first meeting. Do you ever feel sad and low and then God puts someone or something in your path that brightens your day or changes your life for the better even though you didn’t feel you deserved it?

  Chance made his first big impression on Lynn when he promised her boys he’d watch them on the swing and then he actually did it. Why was this so important to her? As Christians, don’t you believe the small things—or the seemingly small things—matter?

  Why was it so important to Stacy to be married to Emmett by a preacher?

  Why was it so important to Lynn for Chance to step up and be that preacher? I love seeing how God works in real life and in my books to bring people together in just the right moments—moments I call “God moments.” Have you experienced “God moments?” Discuss these and their effects on you with the group.

  Applegate and Stanley are pretty frank about the first preacher who came to preach at the church. What would you have done in their situation?

  Chance was angry at God because he believed God should have given him one more chance to win Randy’s soul. Then he remembered that God did give him that chance. When was it and what happened?

  How did this help Chance?

  What kind of life change do you think Chance will make in the lives of Lynn’s twins?

  The matchmakers saw the signs and pushed Lynn to bid on Chance in the auction. They wanted to make a difference in Lynn’s and Chance’s lives. Is there something you can do to help make a difference in someone’s life?

  ISBN: 978-1-4268-7656-1

  YULETIDE COWBOY

  Copyright © 2010 by Debra Clopton

  All rights reserved. Except for use in any review, the reproduction or utilization of this work in whole or in part in any form by any electronic, mechanical or other means, now known or hereafter invented, including xerography, photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, is forbidden without the written permission of the editorial office, Steeple Hill Books, 233 Broadway, New York, NY 10279 U.S.A.

  This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents are either the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, business establishments, events or locales is entirely coincidental.

  This edition published by arrangement with Steeple Hill Books.

  ® and TM are trademarks of Steeple Hill Books, used under license. Trademarks indicated with ® are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office, the Canadian Trade Marks Office and in other countries.

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  *Mule Hollow

  **Men of Mule Hollow